Tricon Films & Television will kick off international sales of Rob Schneider’s scripted comedy series Real Rob! at the upcoming Mip-TV market in Cannes. The eight-episode independently produced series is co-written by Schneider with his wife, Mexican writer-producer Patricia Azarcoya Schneider, and his friend, comedian Jamie Lissow. Challenging the traditional TV biz model, Schneider said last year that he hopes the endeavor “shakes up Hollywood.” Per Tricon, he’s the first actor to have written, produced, starred in, directed and self-financed an entire season of a television show. Real Rob! is an exaggerated yet brutally honest depiction of Schneider’s real life. A single-camera, documentary-style half-hour, it centers on Schneider as a version of himself, along with his wife and his incompetent assistant whom he cannot fire because he is his friend, and personal stalker. The narrative is punctuated by Schneider doing stand-up bits in the vein of FX’s Louie and the early years of Seinfeld. Season 1 guest stars include George Lopez and ex-Saturday Night Live castmembers David Spade and Norm Macdonald. The second season of Real Rob! will begin production in the summer. Schneider is currently filming The Ridiculous Six with Adam Sandler, marking their 18th collaboration.

A+E Networks UK is looking to capitalize on the success it enjoyed with Vikings by acquiring the exclusive linear TV rights to Starz’s original adventure-drama series Black Sails for History in both the UK and Africa. The Emmy-winning series is set in the 18th century during the Golden Age of piracy and showcases the darker side of pirate life. Toby Stephens stars with Hannah New, Tom Hopper, Clara Paget, Luke Arnold, Toby Schmitz, Zach McGowan and Jessica Parker Kennedy. The third season began filming in November in South Africa. Black Sails debuted on Starz in the U.S. in 2014 and takes place 20 years prior to the events depicted in Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island. The offshore History premieres are set for this summer. Black Sails is created by Jonathan E Steinberg and Robert Levine and executive produced by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form.

Amping up the star quotient at next month’s Mip-TV market, ITV Studios Global Entertainment has set red carpet attendees for its world premiere screening of Texas Rising. Bill Paxton, Ray Liotta and Olivier Martinez will travel to the Cannes confab, which has increasingly become a showcase for big scripted premieres, along with director Roland Joffé and executive producer Leslie Greif. The first episode of the epic series, produced by A+E Studios and ITV Studios America in association with Thinkfactory Media for History, will be screened April 13 in the Palais. Texas Rising details the Texas Revolution and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers. The eight-episode series follows the events that unfold after the Battle of the Alamo and the fight for an independent Texas. The series premieres May 25 on History.

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This article was printed from https://deadline.com/2015/03/real-rob-rob-schneider-black-sails-texas-rising-miptv-1201394165/